Real estate agent

[Stormspirit]

Been looking to get into this career path.

Was wondering if anyone got experience or know someone that does that can chime in regarding the courses, start up fees, how to get into a broker, how hard is it to get sales competing with 40 year olds who's been in the game for many years?

[6793026]

^ how young are you, what languages do you speak and what are your goals.

my family are 2 realtors, surviving. My buddy is a great realtor, he's 28 and he cracker 250k this yr (only June right now). Then there are the famous people who are making 500k and you'll be sure to recognize the names of them.

You'll also learn that only 10% of the realtors make it past their 3 yr.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

start by getting your licence.

[nma]

Originally Posted by Stormspirit

Been looking to get into this career path.

Was wondering if anyone got experience or know someone that does that can chime in regarding the courses, start up fees, how to get into a broker, how hard is it to get sales competing with 40 year olds who's been in the game for many years?

I've just started this journey.

1k to take your exam. After you pass, 1k for post licensing classes to get license. After you pass, $1,200 to get your license, this fee also involves your errors and omissions insurance. Brokerages vary but the one I chose is $100 a month with a 10% deal fee. Best way to get started is to NOT get your license yet. Try and get hired as an assistant somewhere..... Make sure you actually want to do this, and can survive in the industry. It's best if you know someone in the industry, otherwise pretty tough to get started.

Like any business, you wont profit unless you get it rolling. There is no get rich quick scheme unless your parents know a tonne of rich people who would love to give you their listings, or buy a shit load of property.

[alwayslive]

Personally, I'm not a real estate agent. But I would love to get into it as a career as well. I think that as with all sales jobs, it's all about your mentality and the way you approach the job. If you're an extremely driven and self motivated individual then I think you'll do well. Just make sure you are able to get return clientele and also don't try to make a quick buck or else you'll never get any referrals. Currently I'm getting into different sales and marketing jobs to learn the skills that I'll need later on as an agent. But definitely do what nma suggested and try to become an assistant to an agent first, it might be completely different than you think.

[Drow]

personally i think real estate agents get paid way too much for such a task

brb being the representative for selling your house

brb someone wants to buy, realtor gets fat cut for doing minimal work

sure, i'd probably see the value in someone helping you sell your house in a really stagnant market... but in a market such as vancouver pffft, the house sells itself. brb 30k cheque out of nowhere.

[Energy]

I was driving in North Van during rush hour today and was stuck in traffic so I had the chance to notice that every bus and bench I saw had an ad for a real estate agent.

On some buses there were two ads for two different real estate agents! The market must be really good for them right now.

[GabAlmighty]

Originally Posted by Drow

personally i think real estate agents get paid way too much for such a task

brb being the representative for selling your house

brb someone wants to buy, realtor gets fat cut for doing minimal work

sure, i'd probably see the value in someone helping you sell your house in a really stagnant market... but in a market such as vancouver pffft, the house sells itself. brb 30k cheque out of nowhere.

Originally Posted by Energy

I was driving in North Van during rush hour today and was stuck in traffic so I had the chance to notice that every bus and bench I saw had an ad for a real estate agent.

On some buses there were two ads for two different real estate agents! The market must be really good for them right now.

What Drow said. They don't really have to do much work, the houses sell themselves. Especially in the suburbs here where most houses are around the 800/900 mark and people are paying above asking for them.

But, if you have at the drive and determination it's an excellent career. I've thought about it a few times.

[nma]

There are some pretty ignorant responses, as expected... Everyone thinks their job is the hardest, while other jobs are easy. I'll leave it at that, because saying anything more is kind of a waste of time.. People are usually set on their views.

But in terms of income, you're oblivious if you think these guys just rake in mad profit. Only a few TOP guys, like in any industry, get paid the big bucks. See how much you actually get paid after you pay all your expenses, and calculate the hours you've worked.

But then again everyone on RS knows everything, so nvm

Good luck on your journey!

[GabAlmighty]

Not sure if you're referring to me or not nma, i'm literally paraphrasing what my realtor said haha. Not taking away the work required, there's still time to be invested no doubt.

[nma]

Originally Posted by GabAlmighty

Not sure if you're referring to me or not nma, i'm literally paraphrasing what my realtor said haha. Not taking away the work required, there's still time to be invested no doubt.

Right now it's an easier time, and some agents are living on a dream cloud. However, if you do make a career out of this, you get to see all the variance involved. Kind of like what the oil guys are experiencing right now.

I don't know why any realtor would say that it's easy and shit sells by it self. Of course some of it does, but that doesn't take away from the need of a good agent to achieve your goals. It pays it self.

That being said, it is much more important to get a great agent when you're purchasing property, as opposed to selling it.

The way Drow phrases it makes it seem like any dude can go out there make a few quick bucks. That is far from the truth. Those guys getting those great listings worked their asses off for years to get to where they are now. Those who are lucky to make a few quick bucks, likely wont last long in the industry. Loads of agents go busto real quick.

The agents who get the real good listings usually give a pretty generous cut on commission. Once they pay their fees, taxes, and expenses, you would honestly be really surprised with their net profit.

[Drow]

I dont discount the work necessary to get to where they were. Realtors that start from scratch get zero business unless u know the world. It takes hard work to build a pipeline.

But srsly lol take any mini-mansion richmond home. List a decent price and pair it with any agent u want, offers will start coming in whether its listed by the agents where u see 100x of their faces plastered all bus benches, or an agent who just started the gig.

In vancouver's real estate market, it just feels to me like choosing an agent to sell your house is like choosing who to randomly give a slice of your sales proceeds to.

One thing i find really weird is why realtors get % commissions for the sale versus flat fee. Just because the property is worth more? Does it justify that selling a home for 800,000 versus selling another for 1600000 is almost double the commission? Sure maybe mansions have a smaller market, but perhaps a higher flat fee versus just plain %.

For mortgage brokers, i can justify the % commission they get. Their job is to bring mortgage volume to their institutions. Of course the higher amount u bring in would justify a % in commission... Whereas realtors theyre not really providing any actual "resource", the deal is between a buyer and seller and theyre just there to faciliate that transaction and theyre getting paid % commission lol

[nma]

Originally Posted by Drow

I dont discount the work necessary to get to where they were. Realtors that start from scratch get zero business unless u know the world. It takes hard work to build a pipeline.

But srsly lol take any mini-mansion richmond home. List a decent price and pair it with any agent u want, offers will start coming in whether its listed by the agents where u see 100x of their faces plastered all bus benches, or an agent who just started the gig.

In vancouver's real estate market, it just feels to me like choosing an agent to sell your house is like choosing who to randomly give a slice of your sales proceeds to.

One thing i find really weird is why realtors get % commissions for the sale versus flat fee. Just because the property is worth more? Does it justify that selling a home for 800,000 versus selling another for 1600000 is almost double the commission? Sure maybe mansions have a smaller market, but perhaps a higher flat fee versus just plain %.

For mortgage brokers, i can justify the % commission they get. Their job is to bring mortgage volume to their institutions. Of course the higher amount u bring in would justify a % in commission... Whereas realtors theyre not really providing any actual "resource", the deal is between a buyer and seller and theyre just there to faciliate that transaction and theyre getting paid % commission lol

People are free to sell their houses without an agent, yet they choose to use one.. There must be a reason? lol.. While I do understand where you're coming from, your view on this only brushes the surface of the hardships and difficulties involved in this industry.

[tiger_handheld]

Originally Posted by nma

People are free to sell their houses without an agent, yet they choose to use one.. There must be a reason? lol.. While I do understand where you're coming from, your view on this only brushes the surface of the hardships and difficulties involved in this industry.

I think that reason is access to MLS. When was the last time you bought a house by looking at craigslist? If individuals were allowed to list on MLS with standard criteria, then the need for r/e would be slim.

An agent is a convenience pretty much - get them to do the leg work of booking appts, showing appts, n for that someone has to pay.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by nma

People are free to sell their houses without an agent, yet they choose to use one.. There must be a reason?

Originally Posted by tiger_handheld

I think that reason is access to MLS. When was the last time you bought a house by looking at craigslist? If individuals were allowed to list on MLS with standard criteria, then the need for r/e would be slim.

An agent is a convenience pretty much - get them to do the leg work of booking appts, showing appts, n for that someone has to pay.

No offense to anyone that is a realtor, but the "code" is strong between them.
They will not openly admit to it, but they are all against owners selling their own homes. Heck, they are against those 1% realtors because commission is their lively hood.

That being said, I also understand it from a realtor's point of view.
For everything that they help sell or buy, it's not just them that get's paid.
They work for a company that takes a cut.
They have assistants that need to get paid.
Marketing, staging a home.
Insurance, licensing to be a realtor. MLS listing fees.

And while things are going great now, eventually the market will slow down so they are not going to be printing money forever.

[aj94]

I'm not an agent myself, but my dad is. One thing I can say is, it takes hard work and insane dedication. Just like any other business, you start with nothing and have to build your own reputation.

Most people trust agents that have been around for a while just because it seems like the best bet. Try becoming an agent and convincing someone to list their house with you as your first listing, chances are it won't happen.

For this reason I don't discredit any experienced agents even if their job seems like a piece of cake. We see all the good stuff but not the years of work that go in to achieving that freedom. How many CEOs actually work a 9-5, probably not very many. In the same way, each agent should be looked at as an individual business, aside from the firm they choose to represent.

To answer the OPs question, its not cheap and will not be a walk in the park. In a market like Vancouver you're looking at tons of competition but if you bust your ass and make people notice you, you can definitely succeed.

[6793026]

holy fuck .... some responses

1) Go buy a property without an agent and try to sell a house without one.
a) good luck reading all the minutes from the apartment and knowing what to look out for esp. from contingency funds and future tenant chipping in to fix leaks and stuff.
b) Now go sell your house with your own sign out your front door. God knows how you're going to protect yourself with the contracts.

2) I personally am looking for 30-100 arces of land to build something. 90% of the land are NOT on the market AND with a 10 yr plan to build a business center, mall or entertainment center etc, you need to buy something that is zoned properly.

eg// I just bought a blueberry farm in surrey and richmond, what do you mean I can't build 3 houses with a 15 car garage and a gun range? Everything has to be zoned properly and it takes 2 yrs to get municipality approval.

Only 10% of realtors get to stay in the business after the 1st few years.

Here's a great example: You are new in the market versus. Mr / Mrs Realtor of the year Medallion club winner with over 25 years of experience. Please explain to me why I should let YOU sell my house when both of you charge the same commission. Why wouldn't I give someone with much better network than you?

*please don't say you'll willing to charge cheaper commission....

[Drow]

@ the realtor responses ITT.

Im not discrediting the years of hard work and dedication to build your customer base. All im saying is that it shouldnt be % commission, but a flat fee. Maybe a higher flat fee for more expensive houses.

BRB MAKE 30K SELLING YOUR HOME

[quasi]

The problem is that although housing prices are probably 5 times higher (just a guesstimate) then they were 25 years ago on average Realtor's commissions haven't adjusted to reflect that. I wouldn't argue that it's not more beneficial then not to use a Realtor but I will argue all day that they are being over paid for what they do industry wide.

If I was selling in this market right now I'd go with one of those 1% Realtor companies first and see if that closed the deal, most stuff on my block is selling in 3-5 days right now. If it was a tougher market I'd buck up for someone to market and show my place, at least they'd have to work for their money. If I remember right the average Realtor charges something like 7% on the first 100 then 3.5 after? Even on my cookie cutter property in the burbs that's $25,000 and in this market it's at most 30 days work but probably less. Anyone who doesn't see a problem with that is either an idiot a Realtor or a relative/spouse of Realtor.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by aj94

I'm not an agent myself, but my dad is. One thing I can say is, it takes hard work and insane dedication. Just like any other business, you start with nothing and have to build your own reputation.

Most people trust agents that have been around for a while just because it seems like the best bet. Try becoming an agent and convincing someone to list their house with you as your first listing, chances are it won't happen.

For this reason I don't discredit any experienced agents even if their job seems like a piece of cake. We see all the good stuff but not the years of work that go in to achieving that freedom. How many CEOs actually work a 9-5, probably not very many. In the same way, each agent should be looked at as an individual business, aside from the firm they choose to represent.

To answer the OPs question, its not cheap and will not be a walk in the park. In a market like Vancouver you're looking at tons of competition but if you bust your ass and make people notice you, you can definitely succeed.

So basically it's hard, but the hard part isn't the buying or selling, but making people think they need you and not someone else.

[Drow]

Originally Posted by quasi

The problem is that although housing prices are probably 5 times higher (just a guesstimate) then they were 25 years ago on average Realtor's commissions haven't adjusted to reflect that. I wouldn't argue that it's not more beneficial then not to use a Realtor but I will argue all day that they are being over paid for what they do industry wide.

If I was selling in this market right now I'd go with one of those 1% Realtor companies first and see if that closed the deal, most stuff on my block is selling in 3-5 days right now. If it was a tougher market I'd buck up for someone to market and show my place, at least they'd have to work for their money. If I remember right the average Realtor charges something like 7% on the first 100 then 3.5 after? Even on my cookie cutter property in the burbs that's $25,000 and in this market it's at most 30 days work but probably less. Anyone who doesn't see a problem with that is either an idiot a Realtor or a relative/spouse of Realtor.

Finally. Someone who fckin gets it. Thanks for your post, unlike some ignorant posts ITT who justifies charging ridiculous % commission, taking chunks of YOUR property for listing and selling, which at max probably should cost less than 6-7k

When will ppl wake up and not do something blindly just because its the norm?

[tiger_handheld]

Originally Posted by 6793026

Here's a great example: You are new in the market versus. Mr / Mrs Realtor of the year Medallion club winner with over 25 years of experience. Please explain to me why I should let YOU sell my house when both of you charge the same commission. Why wouldn't I give someone with much better network than you?

*please don't say you'll willing to charge cheaper commission....

Because the first year shmuk will work their ass off unlike Mr.Medallion who likley has 5-6 1st years as "assistants" who know absolute jack all about the property you are looking at. The popular you are, the less face time you get with the actual client. I hated going to listing that said "By: Mr.Medallion & Team Realty."

Disclosure: I'm not a realtor, just in the market for a place and this is what've ive noticed as a customer.

[Bonka]

If you don't like the amount of commission you have to pay, cross out the space where they have it pre-printed and fill in what you think they're worth and initial it.

Just because the "standard" is 7/2.5 doesn't mean you have to grudgingly accept it than bitch about it online. There will be many agents out there more than willing to do it for less.

I really like the Redfin model in the states. Not just the remuneration structure for agents, but the amount of information the public has access to on property info.

[6793026]

^ yup. fully agree. You get to see the guy ONCE and that's it. They get the job done quicker with the network.

Does anyone work on commission or tips here? Would you go to a 5 star restaurant and after a meal you say, DANG, the dish you carried out and the experience is the same as if I was at a 2 star restaurant. I'm going to mandate since you're a 5 star restaurant, you should be capped at 8% tip instead of the norm of 15%.

I have not seen a deal that doesn't involve the realtor cutting commission.

I have heard about the 1% company. Look at it this way.
a) Mr. famous realtor has a 5 page ad + personal website with literally 10+ calls an hr with people inquiring about all his listings.
b) Mr. 1 % who's doesn't post my listing on any of the newspaper ad or anything online.

Haven't we heard of the "you get what you pay for?" I'm not a realtor by the way.

[SkinnyPupp]

So far nobody has made a single compelling argument for why realtors should get more than 1% commission, if that.

If they want to buy a 5 page ad and answer 10 calls a day, that's to their own benefit, not anyone else's. It just means they're making more sales pitches. Why would that be worth more cost to sellers?